Edinburgh crime: Edinburgh shop blasts youths who 'smashed windows' and 'attacked staff'

The Refillery, an eco-friendly Edinburgh store that sells plastic-free groceries and ethical goods on Newington Road, shared a photo of the damage on social media.

The incident reportedly took place at around 9pm on Friday, January 31.

Sharing a photo of the shattered windows in a post on their Facebook page, staff at The Refillery said: “So this happened last night! Two windows in fact were damaged by teenagers! Seems they were angry that a shop on the same street wouldn't sell them vapes (as they're underage).

“They ran riot in that shop, swinging a pallet around and attacking the staff. This all happened at around 9pm. Thankfully we were closed.”

The post continued: “It got me thinking about the whole vape situation. We don't sell vapes, cigarettes or alcohol, so in the last 6 years we haven't had any real trouble with teenagers but it's fairly common among other shops I'm told. So whilst the vaping industry make their millions, their vendors are having to put up with all the aggression.

“There are shops in this area that are known to be selling vapes to underage teenagers so that is clearly bringing them to the area. There's very little the other shop keepers can do when these teenagers launch their attacks as they're too young and many are girls too. They simply have to stand back. Which I imagine is very frustrating.”

The Refillery wrapped up the post by appealing to Edinburgh South MP Ian Murray, saying: “What's going to be done @ianmurraymp to stop teenagers running feral on your doorstep?”

A Police Scotland spokesperson said: “Around 9.30pm on Friday, 31 January, 2025, police received a report of vandalism to a premises on Newington Road, Edinburgh. Enquiries are ongoing.”